Fatblueman

On the cutting edge of 21st century J-Pop, Fatblueman is essentially John Janzen and any friends he can get to play with him on a given day. Hiroko Iwase has been a consistent band member since the band started. Trapped in the world of classical violin music, she was rescued by FBM, which introduced her to a paradise of noisy, smoke-filled bar gigs, and the word "fiddle". Then there are the "gaijin"- non-Japanese folk living in Japan who escape the drudgery of life in their English-teaching cell by banding together to sing of their pain.

Coleen and Leslie, an Aussie, and a Winnipegger (like John) provide the alt-country influence. The Yankees, Hiro and Tom bring that brash "me-first" sort of confidence that one would expect from a couple of New Yorkers.

Back To Winnipeg is a CD dedicated to life lived as a stranger in a strange land. The songs are a compilation of John's experience in his adopted home, as evidenced in songs like the country-rocker "Which Road Takes Me Home" and the title track, Back to Winnipeg, which moves in for a close-up on the shock and awe of being a foreigner living in Japan.